THE BEST OF WARPSTONE:
VOLUME ONE
Corrupting Influence
Editor: Joba Foody
Associate Editor: Martin Oliver
Cover: Joha Keane
Mlustrations: ate so Bom os Ried QE] Bi Bie
Rowe Poe eet — Nera Hey Fone
Eric Fessard's pictures were originally published in Le Grimoire issue 18. wewlegrimoire net
Warpstone Team, issues one to sine
Editors: John Foody & John Keane
Associate Editors: Martin Olives. Steven Punter & Mel Tudno Jones
‘Warpstone has been made possible by the hard work and dedication of all those who have submitted artwork or an article of taken
the time to comment. To all these people, thank you. Special thanks to Tim Eccles, Alfred Notez Jt. N. Arne Dam, Aathooy
Ragen, James Wallis, Bill Tallowia, Sebastien Boudaud, Roderic Oswald, Anthony Carrol. Peter Hustington 6 Adam Januszewski
Printed in CanadaCONTENTS
REPORTS FROM THE HEART OF CORRUPTION
Seo
Welcome to Corrupting Influence, the best of Warpstone issues
fone to nine, Well, nt all of the bes bits, of course; we simply
coulda’ fit all of it in, A couple of articles from issue nine have
been left out purely for reasons of space - something we hope to
sett rights before too long,
Warpstone is a magazine dedicated to Warhammer Fantasy
Roleplay, and is published three times a year. The magazine is
distributed worldwide by Hogshead Publishing, but is
completely independent, and all material is unofficial. It
provides a place where the best in WFRP writing and opinions
can be brought together. Warpstone tries to build on the greatest
strength of WERP: the background. We don't publish pages of
new rules, careers and skills, just for the sake of it. Instead, we
concentrate on developing and expanding the world, (We do
sometimes include rules or careers when the background
\warrants them, but these are kept firmly in the WFRP context.)
‘Warpstone also keeps readers informed of the latest Warhammer,
and gaming news, as well as reviewing all the relevant material
critically and honestly. Artwork has alvays been an important
part of Warhammer, and we have a dedicated team of artists
producing atmospheric illustrations perfectly reflecting the
favour of the world (as you will see here).
‘This book came about for the very simple reason that readers
have demanded it. Prior to Hogshead Publishing taking over the
distribution of Warpstone, we printed much smaller quantities of
cach issue. Thus many of our current readers never had the
chance to see these earlier gems, Indeed, we gather that
‘occasional collections of Wapstone have been selling for vastly
inflated prices! We always intended thatthe articles in
‘Warpstone would be made as widely available as possible; those
that are not currently in print can be found on our website
‘When putting together Comrupting Influence, we used the
‘opportunity to revisit some of the articles and illustrations that
had promise, but which we weren't completely happy with. A
few changes were only to be expected, given how far Warpstone
has come in the last five years. Those brave few who replied to a
classified in the now defunet Arcane magazine ended up with an
{AS size booklet, much ofthe art coming from a clipart
collection, a rant against Games Workshop, some sketchy
reviews and a group of articles that seemed to find favour with
readers. Only one article from issue one reaches this collection -
but we remain intensely proud of it, and of every one since! (OF
‘course, we also look back and groan occasionally, but hey! We
were only human... atthe time.)
Siting down to think about what should go into these pages,
wwe decided to include some areas that you might not expect to
see, We looked at Corrupting Influence as a way of giving you,
the reader, a flavour of what those early issues of Warpstone
were like - hence the inclusion of discussion articles and fiction
amongst the background articles and scenarios.
hope you enjoy Corrupting Influence. Don't forget regular
ddoses of Warpstone may be obtained over the counter of any
good games shop.
The Game
‘Wurpstone discusses WERP and, to 2 lesser degree, roleplaying 26 2
whole. An example of this approach is 10 he found in the first three
articles We atempt to make people look st WFRP snd its world
from new angles. The fourth article, Secrets of the Warhammer
Antists, shows + lighter side t0 the game. We Jook at the history and
development of the game with approiches ranging from looking 31
the in-okes to interviewing the key players.
Ikea
Time to give up aod let the tide of Chios flood over you? It will
be unless ther is balance
Sire
‘One hundred and one ways for PCs to get out of a sticky
situation. Many involving fisticuffs.
Volatile Magick
Warhammer RPG tends to be low magic game for many, but
here are a couple of argucmats for using magic weapons
Sccrets of the WH Artists
T jokes and the like from ose of WFRPS original
designers
ISBN: 1-899749-34.9 PRODUCT CODE: HOG 220
‘Wathamme Wht Dv snd Gases Werks re ested tademaks n Wabaned
Fanuy ele, The Enemy Win, Sows Over Bogesaen, Death on he Ree
Power Behind he Thine Maer Sols Downe River, Aporypta Nom, Agcy
‘Chae, Reais Sorry ath ues fl proniaer imagery, aes nd sat
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Cmupting lefts nd Warpsane SSN 146-6) a inkpedenty proce an
‘cowed lensed or eproved by Games Worksop Lido Hpshod Pubs i
apts pb and dtd worldwide by Hopsad Putin Lid (18.20
wpe ie produced tse ines yar Contact Warpsione a 1! Fridge Green, Kea
Pil Mion Keynes MKT JE. UK.
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‘Amour Pits Games Workshop. Toapnese
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Fllvaip NEC. Newsigercancter WS Weapon Sl
Golgcrown RC Payer Charscer
facade athe NPC pele.
www.warpstone.darcore.net
oe 7eE 5 43 2 1‘The diseased Temple ctept up behind the one-legged Witch Huster
con the road to Marienburg, Thete. I thiak that covers everything
No? Hinmm.. lets ty agua
‘The Old World, where much of WFRP takes place, is among the
greatest of campaign sctings. Warpston attempts fo bring it ever
more alive by looking at interesting ideas in det, Here we bring
you some in-depth examinations of various religious military onder, 3
Took at diseases (and 2 history of medicine in the Old World) and
cven hints for your players in ease one of the diseases rots 4 le off
‘The Guide to Maicoburg was designed to accompany the Hogshesd
book Miricabury: Sold Dows the River, aod gives plyers« flavour
of the city.
one 12
ery Hearts, White Wolves, Blazing Sues, Order of the Shield,
Templars of Manian 6 more
Low-Life on the Highway ri
Some ides for encovaters on the road in The Old World. A.
smaller version of the original article.
DEMS CR uta CS
Ts that suiffle 2 cold or something much, much worse
‘A smaller version of the original article.
Player's Guide to Marienburg 55
Designed to introduce plyers to Marienburg, Was originally
desgeed ae + pullout but we coulda't do that here. Thus the cover
ia shows ls.
beret cae CMs Lord Cd By
All those assty critics that result ia limb departure needed a
solution.
Mankind’s Last Best Chance [x
‘A defeace of Witch-huoters and why they ara’ all bud. Includes
denis of their ongunizstion
Short stories are regulat part of Wispstone. Sometimes they serve
4 an introduction to the world: sometimes they give 2 new
perspective upon it Although sominally being antsy fiction (and the
story here is probably she mort ‘antsy’ that wcve printed). many of
the stories Jook at the world of WERP, not is heros
The Final Adventure (yj
Chios Cultist, moaning adventurers and a dying Jee,
YS Ere Cr)
T doot think there is such » thing as an ‘average’ Wirptone scesrio.
We have deliberately steered amy (although sot este) from using
Chios. The Old World has far more to offer thin just huat-the
cultists plot. For reasons of space, Corrupting Influence docsat
Contin the seenatio Once Upon + Time in Maricaburg {rom issue
nine, Probably the scenario Td consider to be among the best from
these aves, and T hope we can include it in + future release. The one
T like feast ~ One Hour (to) Mer ~ is here, though. Why? Because
‘came top in our readers poll. Which just goes to show how much
knoe!
A Hundred Years of Trade iB
"The Hofbsucr-Bodelstien Trading Company. Just to show not all
merchants ate bed.
The Greys B
[Nothing to do with aliens, but a group that show that nothing in
the Old World isin black sed white
forty 3
Some brief encouaters of steasrio hooks, essential for CMs
caught on the hop, so to speak
SUS Ly
Dark thiogs that go bump in the aight. A new teror hauats the
‘One Hour (to) Morr 89
Dark things that go bump in the night TL Only an hour
to sive their precious hides.
Te ey 97
Greed, ambition nd violence. With the PCs in the middle of
Missing Children of Regensdorf 105)
Something strange is going on in the villge of Regeasdort
A Buried Past ty)
‘Can you leave your past behind? Depend
Miscellany
No matter how many sections we had. there would always be
something that just woolde't fit neatly into say of the categories.
This is where we've pot all those awkward but essential bits. Included
here are phyer handouts, and an index to Warpstoe articles,
THE INDEPENDENT MAGAZINE FOR WARHAMMER FANTASY ROLEPLAYCHAPTER ONE
PLAYING THE GAME8 WN SPS
FIGHTING CHAOS: WHY BOTHER?
by Timothy Eccles
‘The purpose ofthe article is to question the rationale behind what I
have alvways taken as the fundamental concept of Warhammer. In
‘WERP, the aim for PCs i to save the world from the insidious spread
‘of Chaos ~ this is an idea that the rulebook states and published
scenarios develop. More specifically, PCs are to fight the insidious
infiltration of chaos within The Empire and other nations of the Old
World. In doing this, WFRP is clearly different from the mass batle
rules also set in the Warhammer World. In the battle rules, chaos
armies are simply another set of figures to collect, another army to
‘command. Chaos has an equal chance as any other force, assuming
the game is balanced right. In WFRP, itis clear which side players
are on, and so they should have a better than average chance if the
game isto be playable. And yet, in WFRP, neither the PCs, nor the
forces ranged against Chaos - those of Law, and of civilisation
generally - stand a chance. Chaos is simply an invincible presence
surrounding the bastions of society, so powerful that it could simply
bulldoze its way across the world, regardless of servants working as
a fifth column within those nations.
‘The Strength of Chios
Now, do not get me wrong: love the chaos-infested Old World. My
point is that the WFRP environment is all about secret corruption
and the enemy within. Chaos should be a murky unknown, a
nightmare of the dark or a huddled tale told over a very bright fire in
hushed tones. Too often this does not happen. The forces of Chaos,
are perfect examples of power gaming gone mad. The most blatant
example ofthis in my games was when my party, having completed
all the published adventures (and many others), went off to Kislev
toencounter Something Rotten in Kislev. There we met Granax and
his Bloodletter of Khore, who was armed with a hellblade doing
3d6 damage. Three years of role-play were demolished in 5 minutes.
Both GM and players were experienced, but weren't ready for such
high fantasy in WFRP. No one was to blame for playing this scenario
as was printed; itis clearly a problem withthe game, not the players.
[realise that Kisle is meant to be onthe border of the Wastes and is
not forthe weak, but I mean - chaos armour (2 AP; no encumbrance),
ei
magic resistance, strength + 3 (yes, THREE), sword kills spellcaster
automatically on a hit (and he hits 60% of the time), 446 damage
from the sword and its poison. Our entire party, having completed
the (then) entire campaign, had fewer items than Granax and his
band.
But this perfectly illustrates the problem. Granax, in my view, is
not what Chaos is about. Granax should be the ultimate in Chaos
‘enemies, not the first of a string. Yet demons are increasingly
‘common in WFRP material, pethaps influenced by Warhammer
Fantasy Battle or high fantasy tendencies. If Granax and his kind
‘were common, or atleast as frequent as his sighting in Something
Rotten in Kislev would imply, then why would Chaos need servants
inside The Empire? Who within The Empire could stop even one
from such a warband, never mind a dozen, or 50, or 100? The
problem is thus twofold: the numbers of Chaos creatures, and their
power. If Chaos is run as in Realm of Chaos, it gets its many boons
and items on top of ordinary skills (yes, they also get dodge blow,
strike mighty blow ef), that there really is no chance for the forces
of ‘Good
Butt gets worse. PCs cannot use chaotic magical items. Even if
PCs manage to overcome some of their enemies, they are unable 10
turn their armaments against them - a problem not shared by those
chaoties who capture magic items.
And still there is mote, Chaos itself is so easy to ‘catch’ - a
disease, a questioning attitude, a desire for enjoyment - that the Old
World cannot survive. We all become chaotics. Catch a cold, and
you have been Nurgle’d. Believe in a different set of (economic!
political/eligious) views and you have been Tzeentch’d. Enjoy sex
and you have been Slaaneshd. Yes, I exaggerate, but not by much.
‘The entire concept of the world is out of balance. It is now worse
than AD&D, where at least (say) the Forgotten Realms books read
as a passable fantasy world (until you realise that even the whores
have tobe level three fighters). The justification of continued survival
all those excuses about the Chaos forces being too busy fighting
themselves to bother the mortals - just doesn’t make sense.
‘What's more, facing this invincible juggernaut is a divided and
scattered opposition. The forces of "Good" are divided over religious,
political and economic differences, to name but a few. Within a
WERPesque ‘enemy within’, this works perfectly - but when faced
by the ravening hordes, it simply sets the seal on the doom that
awaits
The Solution
1am not sure that there is one. I admit that Iam from the old schoo!
‘of wargaming. By that [mean that Thave been brought up on Aragom
and Gandalf triumphing in Lord of the Rings, Lawful/Chaotic Good
ADAD parties versus Chaotic Evil baddies, and playing Runequest
2, where the Lunars were portrayed as evil, rather than Runequest 3,
‘where they are merely another culture with different gods and values.
like my games to have the beleaguered forces of good overcome
evil. In WERP, they are just beleaguered. That is not to say I don't
like ‘grey areas’; I love WFRP for that. Some of the merchants in
Shadows Over Bogenhafen were stupid and greedy rather than evil,
and the scenario was much more credible for it.
Fundamentally, I think that the mass battle rules (WFB) that are
Corrupting Influence - Page 5inevitably linked to WERP's setting have led the game astray. Chaos,
armies became popular and thus were given increasingly more items,
skills and power. Rather than being an abstract enemy, Chaos became
4 focus in itself. The only real way to restore game balance is to
junk the WEB/Games Workshop seting and produce a second edition
of WFRP with balance - and a stress on the ‘enemy within’ - in
‘mind,
Until then, the only alternatives are to weaken Chaos, or
strengthen Law. The first I think is difficult, because the game's
ethos seems to have changed. The ad-hoc removal of hellblades ete
‘would not work on its own, and demands more work by the individual
GM in rewriting what is supposedly a consistent worldview.
However, downgrading the powers of Chaos and making it harder
tobecome tainted would be a good start. The newer Realms of Chaos,
describing beastmen as the most numerous creatures in the world,
is the perfect example of material to be avoided - but even the
supposedly classic version is far more powerful than ordinary WFRP
material
‘The second option would need to be done carefully and
consistently, and so would also need a new edition. I do think that
the gods of Law need strengthening (and returning to ‘Good’, new
“chaos-hunter’ type career classes need to be created, specialist skills
should be introduced and that Malal should be reintroduced as a
‘g0d for those innocents unfairly infected and seeking revenge. In
my game, I also have relics of the ‘Good’ gods (like Sigmar’s
hhammer) that are focused upon the destruction of Chaos, but are
‘otherwise weak (and thus don’t unbalance the game). And now we
have a new Emperor, pethaps we could even have some social justice
to remove the need for the masses to seek solace in Chaos?
‘One point that has not occurred to me until recently is that this
‘might be precisely the point of some games. The world is doomed,
regardless of the PCs’ actions. This is, of course, perfectly valid,
bbutit wasn’t how I understand WFRP, and it is not to my taste. I like
‘my fantasy to have some hope of salvation (however remote). If T
‘wanted to revel is existential angst and morbidity I could just carry
cn living in the real world,
Conclu
‘WERP is a brilliant system, although twenty years on, many of the
rules do need tweaking. However, in my opinion, Chaos’ relative
dominance over the Old World is a weakness of the system. Chaos
is literally everywhere, both inside and out ofthe “civilised” nations.
Kill one group and there are two more. They are in government, in
the forests, in the slums, in the guilds and on the rivers. Chaos is
justtoo strong, and PCs might as well not bother trying todo anything
about it.
TO FIGHT, OR NOT TO FIGHT?
That is the Question... by John Keane
How many times have you, as PCs, found yourselves in a situation
where it seems that you have no options available to you except the
good old trusty (or possibly rusty) sword? It doesn’t sound familiar?
Well, you're either very lucky, have an extremely short term memory,
or you're the GM. If you happen to be the latter then show us some
mercy, please!
‘Ic must be said that this situation doesn’t necessarily come from
sadistic GMing. It often crops up as part of a pre-written “official”
publication. One recent occurrences of this was as follows. We, the
PCs, were desperately trying to save the world (again!), and had
tunwisely (in retrospect) deemed to stop at an Inn before the onset of,
the rapidly approaching night. We thought it would be safer to be
inside in the warmth and hospitality of this small town Inn, than
outside in the beastman-infested woods. In reality it was about as
safe as inviting a Troll to your birthday party and then running out
of cake. It should be noted at this juncture we had in our possession
an artefact that didn't strictly belong to us ~ but it was imperative
for the completion of the mission and had been given to us willingly
‘and without duress by its rightful owner,
‘Upon entering the establishment and obtaining a room and some
strawberry comestibles, we set ourselves down at a table near &
worldly looking stranger. We soon discovered that he was in fact
the Captain of the Watch for the town and an ex-adventurer. We
chatted away with him quite happily in the sublime knowledge that
\we were not “wanted” men/women at this precise time in our careers.
As the night continued the aforementioned artefact disastrously came
into the possession of the Captain (through no fault ofthe PCs, and
that’s the honest truth) and at this point our dilemma reared its ugly
hhead (as did the rest ofthe Watch). The Captain accused us of stealing
the artefact and threatened to arrest us. What should we do? The
fate of the world rested on our possession of that artefact.
‘'m sure that this situation, in different guises, can be recognised
by all. So, what do you do? Are there ay alternatives to the wholesale
butchering of these poor, honest folk who are just trying their best
to uphold law and order?
It's Good to Talk
‘The truth is out there: And it will probably sound like it - way out
there! The truth is good, the truth is honest, but let’ face it, the truth
sucks. Just imagine if a group of odd-looking people told you they
‘were mankind’s only hope against the resurrection of some long
forgotten evil. You'd probably lock them up in a padded cell and
throw away the key. This is exactly what the Watch will do. First
they'd lock you up for a night or two and then it'd be a one-way
ticket to the Nut House. The only possible good point is that you
‘may have a chance to escape from jail or whilst in transit. However,
this will delay your mission and may result in the loss of equipment.
The lying game: Make up some wild story like, “we're mankind's
only hope against the resurrection of some long forgotten evil.
but remember not to go too over the top. Making up a convincing
story on the spot is an essential art for most role-players, but no
‘matter how convincing itis they probably won't believe you. Even
if they do, chances are they'll still want to detain you until they can
verify it. Either way you're screwed.
Call my bluff: This needs to be done without flinching and with
plenty of bravado. Like the lying game, the story is a complete
fabrication and can easily be exposed. If you try the old “you're
Corrupting Influence - Page 6completely surrounded!” routine, be prepared to have them check
out the story and arrest you anyway. A good one to try (or maybe
not) is convincing them that they've confiscated a powerful chaos
item that, if handled incorrectly (Which it currently is), infects the
individual. This in itself can develop into an interesting situation
Where you get arrested and executed as chaos worshippers, or the
rest of the Watch/townsfolk turn against their Watch Captai
convinced by your argument, Unfortunately this may have
repercussions Tater in your campaign when a Witch Hunter tracks
‘you down and dispatches his usual brand of summary justice.
It’s a Fair Cop
‘Mercy be thy name: Throw yourself onto the mercy of the Watch
and beg for forgiveness. You never know, it might work! However,
this is the most likely one to fail unless you have an extremely
generous GM. (If you do have such a GM, though, you probably
won't be in such a situation in the first place...) If you ty this one,
be prepared tobe incarcerated for quite some time (if you're lucky),
The 5* Amendment: Say nothing. If you don’t say anything then it
can’t be used against you at some later stage, such as your trial. This
will give you some time to concoct areal whopper of astory or, may
give you the chance of a jail break. Who knows - maybe you'll even
be thrown a future plot line whilst in the midst ofthe legal process.
One thing is certain, though: your mission will suffer delays.
Ron Away, Ron Avay!
The Goodyear Blimp: The idea here is to distract everyone long
enough for you to make a hasty retreat. Most often used when any
or all ofthe above ploys have failed. Distractions may be verbal,
such as, “by the light of Shallya whats that big ugly monster outside
the window which is fascinating to look at!” or it could be physical,
such as, “whoops, I've dropped my lantern onto a keg of
zunpowder!” The verbal approach usually gives a much shorter
‘window of opportunity to escape unless you have confused them so
much that they no longer understand te difference between standing,
still and running away at break-neck speed. The physical Blimp can
‘give more time, but if you've burt down the town’s favouritefonly
tayem and then get caught, you may be invited to a lynching (and
‘no, that’s not the meal between breakfast and dinner).
Sacrifice a Pawn: (Or preferably a raving mad Troll Slayer.) If you
‘absorbed, a thought struggled through to
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could do with a sword like that.
Corrupting Influence - Page 8asthe weapon goes on a killing spree of its own. This would only happen
inthe latter stages, though, asthe sword becomes an integrated part of
their body and psyche ~ by which point, it will be very hard for them to
give itup. Ultimately, they will be confronted by a vision of Khorne in
all his glory and forced to battle for their sorry soul.
‘Of course, any player with an ounce of sense would dump the cursed
blade after the first couple of nightmares, so you need to give them a
few compelling reasons for wanting to keep it. Make the dreams
ambiguous to begin with, perhaps r-living previous battles in gory detail,
or being stalked by a faceless shadow. Increased strength and combat
abilities are always welcomed by bloodthirsty PCs, and in the latter
stages you could even throw in an appropriate chaos gift or two, such
as Blood Rage or grafting ofthe weapon onto the PC’s arm itself! And
if you time the nightmares and visitations well, they probably won't
even realise they are connected with their possession of the sword —
ntl it's too late! To further complicate the issue, you might like the
followers of Khorne to take an active interest in the party, both while
they have the weapon and even after they get id of it. Somehow I doubt
the Blood God likes his ‘gifts’ being refused.
‘The purpose of this storyline isto gt the players thinking about the
nature of the power they wield, and force them to question their own
Tmotivations in acquiring powerful magic. It also underlines the
dangers of exposing yourself tothe subtle workings of chaos, where
everything has its price
(Ofcourse, this sor of thing should not be seen as an everyday
‘occurrence, even inthe Warhammer worl, And it should develop
sradually: each nightmare, each subtle change in psychology or
physique, separated by days or even wecks of game time o enhance
the effect and aso disguise the tue souree ofthe nightmares. Run
this sub-plot alongside your main campaign storyline, returning to
it whenever the player starts o get overconfident or boastful about
their new-found power. Reveal the weapon's hidden powers one by
one, and remember that whenever you give with one hand, you
should take away in lager quantities with the oer. Maks the player
increasingly aware ofthe sacrifices they are having to make to gain
their power, and lt them slowly come to realise the fact that they
are losing contol over their character. And if, after ll that, they
sill want to keep the weapon, you have a ready made Champion of
hore with which to plague the rest ofthe party for many sessions
tocome.
“What, you didn t honestly think I'd let you keep the thing, did you?”
THE SECRETS OF THE
WARHAMMER ARTISTS
by Gracme Davi
Humour is as much a part of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay as horror,
and although in retrospect this may seem like a truly inspired design
decision, I can now reveal that it was mostly the inevitable result of
putting together a group of people who were all highly creative but
who possessed appalling senses of humour. Many readers, I'm sure,
will have noticed the bound collection of Playboy on the alchemist’s
‘bookshelf, but there's a lot more you don’t know. So here, just for fun,
is a quick guide to the hidden gags you'll find in WERP artwork. At
least, to all the ones I know about - there could well be more.
By the way, you'll notice that T avoid using page numbers for the
most part. This is because there have been quite a few re-printings and
compilations, especially of the carly Enemy Within adventures, and 1
didn’t want to cause confusion. Besides, you wouldn’t want me to make
things too easy for you, now, would you?
‘THE WFRP RULEBOOK
GW Notables
Starting with John Sibbick’s cover illustration, the warrior in black
‘armour has the face of Bryan Ansell, who owned GW until a few years
ago. The magician looks a litle like him, too. On the back cover, the
hhead impaled upon the goblin’s banner isa self-portrait of John Sibbick
himsel
‘The career illustrations, by Tony Ackland, feature the likenesses of
several Games Workshop notables, not always in the most flattering
light! The Bawd is a portrait of Richard Halliwell, who was known for
his spectacularly messy private life. The sign over the door in this picture
reads “Ye Olde Den of Iniquity”.
‘The Beggar has the face of John Blanche. There was occasional
friction between John and Tony, since they had pretty much an opposite
approach to art, life and everything else. The illustration forthe
‘megalomania disorder also bears a certain resemblance to John,
probably because of some piece of oie polities atthe time.
‘The scribe is Rick Priestley, who wrote the first draft of WFRP,
as well as doing done most of the writing on the Warhammer
miniatures games. Inscribed onthe side of his desk is“Rank Xerox",
‘which was the brand of typesetter GW used a the time.
‘The Charlatan is Bryan Ansell again, The paper he is holding is
“The All-Purpose Unsolicited Testimonial” - obviously from a
satisfied customer!
‘The Cleric is Richard Ellard, who was the manager of the GW
Design Studio, and is now in charge of GW US. The holy symbol
hhanging on his chest incorporates the Volkswagen log in tribute to
his beloved (and far too fast) car ofthe time.
‘The Illusionist in the magic chapter is based on Steve Jackson,
who co-founded Games Workshop and co-wrote the Fighting
Fantasy gamebook series.
There area couple of other hidden celebrities, too. The Bounty
Hunter looks a litle like Clint Eastwood's “Man With No Name”
character fom the Sergio Leone westerns, and the Tomb Robber
(sho also appears inthe illustration forthe Spot Traps skill) looks
something like Indiana Jones. And if you have the original GW
hardbound edition, take a look at the colour plate opposite page
241 -“Bvil Races” by Bob Naismith. You'll ind the ghoul bear a
distint resemblance to Margaret Thatcher. Well, despite her many’
years in office, she was the most unpopular Prime Minister in British
History
Arcane Writings
Whenever you see a book, a seroll or an inscription in a WFRP
Corrupting Influence - Page 9illustration, pause for a moment and take a good look. I's amazing.
‘what you'll find. The character being shadowed by the Bogartesque
detective in the skill section is going through a doorway marked
“House of II Repute”.
‘The alchemist in the advanced careers section has a number of
interesting books on his shelf, beside the bound collection of Playboy
already mentioned: “The Electron Microscope”, “A Quick Guide 10
Quantum Physics”, “Do-it-Yourself Nuclear Fission”, “Organic
Polymer Chemistry”, and “How to Blow Up...” (we'll never know
‘what, since his head is in the way). The lawyer in the same section
has a book under his arm that will no doubt prove invaluable - its
called “101 Easy Ways to Pervert Justice”.
The books for the wizards in the advanced careers section are
somewhat more basic - “Magics" and “Book of Base Metals"
However, the wizard at the start of the Magic chapter has a more
‘advanced library, including the “Necronomicon” and the “Book of
Eibon”. No wonder WERP is often compared to Call of Cthulhu!
Dave Andrews’ magician inthe section on grimoires also has some
fairly standard-looking magical books: “1001 Spells”, the “Book of
Base Metal” again, “Arcane Magic, Vol II”, and the ever-popular
“Total Mayhem and Destruction”. But look closer - you can just make
‘out the first couple of lines of the parchment atthe bottom right of the
picture: “Once upon a time, there were three bears.
WFRP SUPPLEMENTS
Death on the Reik
‘Martin McKenna is another artist who likes to put familiar faces into
hisillustrations, and you can tell he’s a fan of old movies. For example,
the cultists pictured alongside the generic cultst stats atthe start of
the adventure are clearly Peter Lorre and Vincent Price, and the
determined-looking lady holding the lantern in the section about the
Dwarf town is none other than Greta Garbo, in her role as Queen
Christina.
‘The racketeer Luigi Belladonna has a passing resemblance to
Marlon Brando in “The Godfather", too. Especially about the cheeks.
Corrobreth the druid is @ little more modern - he's based on Ian
‘MeShane, best known these days asthe roguish antique dealer Lovejoy
oon British TV,
Herbert Marcuse the Innkeeper looks suspiciously like Stanley
Holloway, who played Eliza Doolitle’s father in the film, “My Fair
Lady".
Kurt Kutzmann is based on Steve “Bil” Sedgewick, who was a
graphic designer at GW at the time, and is also the creator of the
Gobblebdigook cartoon strip, which ran for several years in White
Dwarf.
and Kurt von Wittgenstein is Charles “Chaz” Elliot, who was
also a graphic designer at Games Workshop at that time, and is now a
very senior member of Wizards of the Coast UK. Which either says
something about Chaz or something about Wizards of the Coast...
[No prizes for guessing who Graf Orlok in River Life ofthe Empire
is based on!
Warhammer City
Martin McKenna strikes again. In the encounters section, the Bunko
Artist is Paul Daniels, a popular stage magician on British TV at the
time, and the Racketeer is based on Gareth Hale, hal ofthe TV comedy
{duo Hale and Pace who were renowned for their tuxedo-clad thug
characters Ron and Ron.
But Tony Ackland is not to be outdone. The cultists of the Jade
‘Sceptre include Rick Priestley and Sid who was a Citadel figure painter
at the time. Sid, an outlaw biker through and through, was not too
pleased with, shall we say, the ambiguity of this portrait,
Martin MeKenna’s picture of Gotthard Goebbels (also in Power
Behind the Throne) was based on Paul Cockburn, one-time editor of
White Dwarf.
Something Rotten
‘Another Martin McKenna quip, but this time at the behest of Ken
Rolston: the characters of Krogar and Dolgan Jim are based,
respectively, on White Dwarf comic character Thrud the Barbarian
and the strip's creator, Carl Critchlow.
Character Pack 2nd Edition: The Graf Manfred
‘This contains an obscure one from Tony. In the group scene of the
street brats, there's apiece of graffiti on the wal atthe lower right of,
the picture. Itreads, "Katzen-jammer who?” - a reference tothe vintage
American comic stip, “The Katzenjammer Kids”.
Lichemaster
‘The picture on page 40 is re-used from the WFRP rulebook, buts not
so closely cropped, so a litle more is showing: enough to read the
inscription “Nuclear-Free Zone” on the bottom of the tombstone at
the lower left of the picture.
‘The character of Cecil de Vere Cholmondely is based on English
‘character actor Terry Thomas, who was well known for playing upper-
class eads, bounders and con-men in the 1950s and 1960s.
Doomstones: Fire in the Mountains
‘This doesn’t really count a a joke, I suppose, but take a look at the
picture of the Elves in the section “The Twisted Lands” and see how
‘many rabbits and squirrels you can find.
Doomstones: Dwarf Ws
“Another obscure one from Tony. The Dwarfen robot is based on one
from the old Republic Pictures adventure serials. If you look at its
cchest very closely, you may be able o make out the figure of an eagle
{the symbol of Republic Pictures) and the words “Republic Pictures”
in runes.
Death's Dark Shadow
‘The streetscene (by Steve Tappin, I think, although he’s not credited)
is reproduced from Warhammer City, and like the graveyard scene in
Lichemaster, a litle more is visible here - for instance, the tavern sign
atthe far right, reading “Wuthering Heights”.
Warhammer Companion
Ina picture by (I think) Kevin Walker in the adventure With a Litle
Help from my Friends, the kidnapped childs holding a sof toy which
looks remarkably like Snoopy, irom the “Peanuts” cartoon strip.
‘In “180”, the Tony Ackland picture from Fire in the Mountains
is reprinted. I's a litle darker, so you may have more luck spotting
the wildlife.
So - there you are. I hope you found atleast a couple of things that
‘you hadin’t seen before, and were amused in the process. Ifyou enjoyed
this, look out for the “Secrets of the Warhammer Writers” which
appeared in Warpstone 14 & 15. It explains some of the gags hidden
in the ridiculous German names, and a few NPCs and plot elements
that tell you more than you need to know about life at Games Workshop
in the late 80s!
Corrupting Influence - Page 10CHAPTER TWO
THE OLD WORLDHOLY KNIGHTS, PAGAN DAYS
Knights Templar in The Old World
Ficty Heart, White Wolves & Myrmidian Orders by Peter Huntington with Additional
Material by John Foody, Templars of Manann by Anthony Ragan, Other Cults by Tim
Eccles & John Foody, New Skills by Tim Eccles
Most WFRP players have some idea
‘of what a Templar
shortcut to a neat set of|
‘advances. Some of you might
try and explain what a Templar
really was, what they were about,
‘and then suggest
be integrated into
various Old World religions.
‘Templars were (and are in WFRP)
the avenging sword-arm of @
religion ~and if that doesn’t make
1 nothing
ch of the Real World
history’ about Templars
is just t0 report on the
so if there's somethi
toargue with a leastit
y problem,
THE REAL
TEMPLARS
The Founding of the Templ
de
Bouillion had seized the Holy Cit
during the first Crusa
sirength permitted, they should
keep the roads and highways safe
= with especial
Corrupting Influence - Page 12‘of Solomon”, and in spite ofthe daunting size of this self-imposed task,
they recruited no help for nine years.
‘When the nine returned to Europe in 1127, their fame and.
reputation had spread far and wide, The Pope officially recognised
the order, and for the next two decades they expanded on an
extraordinary scale. Younger sons of noble families flocked from
across Europe to enrol, bringing with them huge donations.
Upon joining, knights took a vow of poverty, handing over their
property and wealth tothe order. This, coupled with the fact the order
never refused gifts, meant it was soon richer than most nations, and
better equipped too; it had its own navy, surgeons and priests. No
European monarch would even consider going on a crusade without
their support. However, the Templars answered to no monarch, only
the Pope.
Crusades!
In the Holy Land, the order gained a fearsome reputation, becoming
the archetypal crusader. Upon entry into the order, a knight not only
took a vow of poverty, but also of chastity and obedience, shaving
their heads and growing beards. They were seen as fierce, fanatical
‘warrior monks; knight mystics distinctively clad in a white mantle or
surcoat with a splayed red cross over their hears. They were the storm
‘woopers of the Holy Land. They fought to the death, never retreated
‘unless outnumbered a last three to one, never asked merey if captured,
and knew that none - up to and including the Grandmasters - would
ever be ransomed by the order.
Over the next one hundred and eighty years the Templars’
flourished and the order grew wealthier and more powerful, although
they did make a few mistakes as they went. In 1153, as a Christian
army was laying siege to Ascalon, the Templars forced a breach in the
city walls. Through this the Grandmaster of the Order entered with a
party of forty knights. He ordered his remaining knights to defend the
breach in the wall against the other Christian soldiers who would try
to enter, intending that the capture of Ascalon would be a victory
purely forthe Order. At first, the Muslim defenders fell back, daunted
by the Templars’ reputations - but when they realised there were only
forty men, they made short work of them.
This story shows the sort of mentality it took to make a Templar
Supremely disciplined, yet prone to incredible arrogance, they are
‘prepared to fight and die (and slaughter as many heathens as possible)
inthe name of their religion.
The Fall
For the Templars, though, the end was near. In 1306, Philippe IV of
France, jealous and afraid, decided to rid his lands of the Templars
and seize their wealth. To do this, Philippe had to enlist the help of a
Pope (there were three at this time), as only a Pope could order their
dissolution. Between 1303 and 1305, Philippe had one or possibly
‘wo Popes killed, and one of his own candidates elected tothe position.
‘The new Pope, Clement V, was greatly indebted to Philippe and could
hardly refuse his demands, including the suppression ofthe Templars.
Philippe planned his moves witha secrecy any secret service would
have been proud of. Sealed orders were dispatched aeross the country,
tobe opened and acted upon at exactly the same time, At dawn on
Friday, October 13* 1307, all Templars were to be arrested and their
wealth seized by the king's men. However, despite his best efforts,
word seemed to reach the Templars, who were able to hide their wealth
where Philippe would never find it. Many Knights were captured and.
charged with crimes against the Church, including Heresy and the
‘worship of idols. Those that did not confess and repent were tortured
and executed.
‘Although Philippe tried to get other monarchs to join his cause, none
‘matched his zeal, In France atleast, the Templars fate was sealed —
Philippe harried and persecuted them without mercy. In 1312, bowing to
pressure from Philippe, the Pope offically dissolved te order, andin 1314,
the last official Grandmaster ofthe order, Jacques de Molay, was burned,
atthe stake,
‘Considering the large number of Knights that escaped arrest, both
in France and abroad, the order did not cease to exist. It went
‘underground, only to surface in legend and rumour time and again
throughout the coming centuries. Some maintain that it sil exists.
PLAYING A TEMPLAR IN WFRP
How can you realistically play a character like this? And will they
survive more than ten minutes?
‘A player wanting to become a Templar ought to be able to justify
this choice, be it as penance for some crime or as a ‘divine calling’
‘They should be famitiar with the religion (rather than the advance
scheme) ~ the GM could even insist on them serving as an initiate
first. Acceptance into the order will involve the character swearing t0
serve the god fora fixed period, usually until they die. From then on,
the characters first loyalty must be tothe order, to their new brothers
and their religion. They will be expected to hand over all worldly
possessions, o obey cult strictures, and often to complete some task
or trial set by the Grandmaster or clerics.
All his will make it necessary to have a large stock of plot devices,
if the player wants to continue ‘adventuring’. More appropriate are
adventures involving obligations such as ceremonial rites, acting as
‘an honour guard, or joining military campaigns. Since Templar
detachments ate highly regarded for their professionalism, every
‘warring Prince or Baron will seek to win their support with a suitably
sized donation tothe order's coffers.
Rivalry between orders is legendary, with the Sigmarite and Ulrican
disputes being the most famous. While orders are not currently openly
hostile, there have been many wars over the last thousand years, taking
the field simply as an excuse to fight each other. However, despite
this antagonism, threats to The Empire always unite them against the
‘common foe,
(On the battlefield few sights are more awe inspiring then watching
Templar charge. Whilst it's unlikely aGM would ever have to referee
this, itcould be included ina narrative to add atmosphere o a dramatic
battle. They will draw up opposite the most dangerous opponent on
the field (unless tactics dictate otherwise) in silence ~ only the
‘commands of their officers and the blessings of their cleries will be
audible. Then, when the orderis given, the company will charge, falling
‘on their enemies like a spiked wall of polished steel. This sight alone
is enough to cause most foes to break, but if combat is joined, the
‘Templars will not willingly withdraw unless ordered to do so. Its
said that anybody witnessing a Templar charge will never forget it,
‘and a well-timed charge can casily tun a battle.
‘Templar Orders in The Old World
Many religions have followers willing to defend them, but few have
enough ardent enough to form an order of any size. Typically, only
the warrior gods ean muster enough men and cleries, and forthe Old
‘World, this means Sigmar, patron deity of The Empire, Ulric, god of
battle, wolves and winter, and Myrmidia, goddess of war. The largest,
‘oldest, strictest regulated and most easily recognised force is the Order
of the Knights of Sigmar. Many of the other cults do have smaller,
‘more specialised Templar Orders and we will ook at them as well, in
particular the Templars of Manann.
Corrupting Influence - Page 13THE ORDER OF THE HOLY
KNIGHTS OF SIGMAR
Helrick’s Vision
In 666 IC (Imperial calendar), Emperor Otto von Dassbutt II signed
the Royal Charter and proclamation (see Panel) which effectively
bought the Templars of Sigmar into being. At this time, the cult of
Sigmar was still relatively young, still atthe stage when its structure
was fluid, with many Hoiy Men vying for the position of Grand
‘Theogonist. The clerical orders of The Silver Hammer, The Torch
and The Anvil (The Enemy Within, pg. 19) were stil in their infancy
after years of being just one central order.
Despite this lack of firm organisation, many felt drawn to this,
new religion, especially warriors who felt great affinity with Sigmar's
ideals. Inthe year 656 IC, according o the order's own history scrolls,
Helrick Frisk, a young warrior from the Imperial bodyguard, first
approached the Grand Theogonist. He claimed that he had received a
vision from Sigmar himself At first, the Grand Theogonist refused to
see the young warrior. (He was, afterall, a busy man witha religion to
run, and didn’t have time to see every wandering priest or mystic who
ccame to him.) However, Frisk was determined. With the courage of
his convictions, and as an excellent soldier and bodyguard, he had
earned the ear ofthe Emperor, who agreed to request the meeting on
his behalf. Eventually the Grand Theogonist gave him the hearing he
desired,
Frisk told the Grand Theogonist of his vision, and how Sigmar
hhad commanded him to “gather about you like-minded men, and
fashion them into a force to protect my empire. Become my hammer,
and deliver crushing blows onto all mine enemies. Blows from which
they will never recover. Choose men of iron will pure of heart, who will
never turn from this worthy cause, Test them, bend them, fashion them.
Only the weak will break. Do as I command.”
‘The Grand Theogonist questioned and interrogated Frisk about
the vision, trying to catch him out. Afterall, why would Sigmar bless
an ordinary soldier with such a vision? Why not visit the Grand
‘Theogonist himself? Envy aside, though, the Grand Theogonist
recognised a good idea when he saw it. He knew it would be a good
excuse to form an official guard devoted to protecting his position in
these troubled politcal times.
‘The Fousding of Sigmar's Templars
So it was thatthe Grand Theogonist announced that Frisk had indeed
received a vision from Sigmar, and that a new religious fighting order
was to be formed. Unfortunately for Frisk, he was to play only a small
role in the Grand Theogonist’s plans.
Initially, the fledgling force was little better than a band of
‘mercenaries, lacking inspired leadership. The Grand Theogonis placed
‘men he could trust in positions of rank, with Anton von Karroll as the
first commander. Von Karroll was an officer and a noble who had
served without any great distinction in the Imperial cavalry, but also
happened to be the Grand Theogonist’s cousin. After his military
service, he had joined the cult of Sigmar, quickly rising through the
ranks thanks to his family inks. By giving him command of the order,
the Grand Theogonist guaranteed his own control of the Templars.
For the next ten years, the force claimed to actin the name of Sigmar,
but dd litle more than implement the Grand Theogonis’s will seizing
land from other religions and seeking out heretics (ie. opponents of
the Grand Theogonist)
‘Meanwhile, Frisk remained loyal tothe order, occupying a position
of low rank. He despaired of what his vision had become, fearing that
he failed in his task. However, he and a few like-minded comrades
had already begun to act out his vision, living a monastic lifestyle and